Beach House Transformation

Get a behind-the-scenes look at designer, blogger, and lifestyle expert Breegan Jane's southern California whole-home renovation

Growing up in Southern California, interior designer Breegan Jane had always dreamed of having a house on the beach. Now, that dream has become a reality.

For two years, Breegan’s home underwent a massive transformation, and along the way, she has carefully made each decision with a designer’s eye and her family top of mind.

“This home is something that I've manifested in my dreams for so long. I have two growing boys, and I was at that point where I wanted to find the place that we would call home for as long as we possibly can. This is such a heartfelt project to me,” she says.

If you’ve seen any of Breegan’s shows on HGTV, you know that she is all about designing spaces with attainable luxury and creating spaces that maximize indoor/outdoor living. For this project, she’s focused on bringing those aspects to her most important client yet—her own family and making this home unapologetically hers.

“This project was different because I'm usually trying to create clients’ dreams, but for this one, this is Breegan’s house, this is what I want. It doesn't have to make sense to anyone, and I'm going to break all the rules,” she says.

Because a connection to nature is important to Breegan and her two sons, her goal with the remodel was creating a functional, yet luxurious, space that allowed her to see and hear the ocean waves crash along the shore.

The home she purchased had a lot of windows. However, those windows came with a handful of problems: frosted glass obstructing views of the outdoors, broken handles on some windows, warped wood from salt air making them impossible to open on others—the list of problems stacked up. So, she approached her design with windows at the forefront of her plan.

“Windows are a foundational element to the function of your home. But they're also such an important visual element in the way in which you do your room planning. Everything depends on your view, light, and nature. You pick your neighborhood and the land that you're on because there's something that connects you to the greater community,” she adds.

For Breegan, her connection to the community comes from the ocean. Living on the west coast, she knew she needed durable windows that would hold up against the harsh, salty, corrosive air. But she also wanted beautiful windows that would satisfy the “look” she was going for in her forever home, so she called Renewal by Andersen.

“What I love about working with Renewal by Andersen is that they do it all from start to finish. They have such trained hands every step of the way, so for me as a designer and as a homeowner, working with them alleviates so much stress when I had so many decisions to make in this house,” she says.

Renewal by Andersen of Los Angeles replaced 53 windows (we told you there were a lot) in Breegan’s house. She chose a variety of Acclaim™ window types, including awning, casement, double-hung, gliding, picture, and specialty because she needed each window to match the look and feel of each room. And she switched the color of her windows from white to black.

“It was integral to lean on the Renewal by Andersen team because I needed better functionality than the windows that had been here for 25 years. Because these Acclaim replacement windows are custom, I was able to think outside the box, place some windows on top of each other or make sure that the part I interacted with was reachable. Now, everything is easy function-wise, and the black color looks stunning,” she says.

The transformation was undeniable. No more frosted glass, no more broken handles, no more sticky windows. Now, Breegan has windows she can open and close smoothly, and with the Andersen-exclusive Fibrex™ composite material, she has windows that are warranted to not rot, chip, corrode, flake or peel (yes, even in that salty air).

Beach living for her is living through all five senses...something her new windows facilitate. Opening them, she can hear ocean breezes, she can feel and smell (and almost taste) the salt air, and she can see the beautiful blue waves sparkle under the California sunshine. But when she wants some peace and quiet, she can experience that, too.

“I notice how calm my space feels, and a lot of that is because of the windows. I just really feel protected in my environment,” she says.

Take a tour of the finished project

Get the look!

Breegan's home remodel used nearly the entire lineup of Renewal by Andersen^® Acclaim replacement windows (casement, gliding, double hung, picture, specialty, and awning). As part of her overall design, she chose to switch from white windows to black in order in contrast with the lighter wall tones that will be used throughout the home. 

“To me, black was an easy, immediate decision. I love the way it looks on the exterior of my house, but I also love how it looks like a picture frame on the inside. The black acts as a frame, so the ocean can become art,” she says.

Throughout the home, she has a variety of window sizes that allow for different vantage points of the beach, giving her maximal views and an opportunity to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living.  One place in particular where window-style choice was important was on the top floor of her home--where she has the clearest view of the beach. There, she chose to create a wall of gliding windows to help bring more of the beach look and feel into her home and maximize those sea breezes. 

Learn more about the versatile gliding (or sliding) window, and customize your new look today!

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Check out this month's featured video for an in-depth walk-through of this incredible transformation. The super cool playroom, walls of windows, and view from the outdoor space are not to be missed!

Want to see more about Breegan's beach house, learn about her other design projects, or check out other design content? Visit Get Inspired With Breegan for more inspirational articles and advice.